MENUMENTAL: Banh Mi Boys turn up the volume on Saigon subs

Banh Mi. Banh Mi Boys serves up a great banh mi, Vietnam’s beloved sandwich. Photo/ERIC VELLEND

Brothers David and Phil Chau took over a dodgy falafel joint on Queen Street West this fall - its desiccated shawarma twirling in the window looked like a culinary challenge on Fear Factor - and are giving Toronto its first taste of gussied up banh mi, Vietnam's beloved sandwich.

I've been a longtime fan of traditional French-influenced banh mi, which are smeared with butter and liver pate, and filled with nose-to-tail cold cuts. The Saigon sub joints up the street in Chinatown practically give them away at two bucks a pop.

The Chau brothers have these sandwiches in their blood. Short of a carrot and cilantro farm, their parents own everything to do with banh mi: they run Nguyen Huong (www.nguyenhuong.ca), a chain of sandwich shops, a meat processing plant that makes traditional Vietnamese sausages and hams and a bakery that turns out the essential crusty rolls.

David and Phil, however, are offering something in the spirit of a hot Italian panini, without straying too far from their Vietnamese roots. The result is pure rock and roll.

Pork belly is perfumed with five-spice powder and braised into succulent submission before being crisped on the griddle and wrapped in a crusty roll with the traditional accoutrements of lightly pickled carrot and daikon, and sprigs of cilantro. I love the seeds-and-all slices of jalapeno, which detonate the sandwich with crunchy heat. House-made aioli is terrific, but overkill for such a fatty cut of meat. (It's also out of place on a saucy sub of veal meatballs, which is almost as good as the pork belly.)

There are tacos, but they're of the Korean fusion variety, which are red hot south of the border. Instead of a tortilla, they're smartly served on a soft, chewy paratha-like flatbread, which is a sturdier vessel and works better with the Asian flavours.

I highly recommend the beef kalbi taco, which features grilled slices of salty-sweet short rib (marinated in soy, ginger and Asian pear), pungent kimchi, shaved red cabbage and the usual banh mi fixings. It has little to do with a Latin taco, but it delivers the same exciting range of tastes and textures.

There are superb sweet potato fries, lightly coated and uncommonly crisp, but it's a giant basket and they're only worth ordering if you can share it amongst a group.

Banh Mi Boys is located a few doors down from McDonald's, which I hope symbolizes a changing of the fast food guard. Out with special sauce and in with sriracha.

Banh Mi Boys

392 Queen St. W. (at Spadina Avenue)

416-363-0588

Lunch for two with soft drinks, tax and tip: $20

www.banhmiboys.com